1. Field Of The Invention
The invention herein pertains to the immobilization and transportation of sick or injured persons and particularly pertains to the transportation of persons utilizing a stretcher to prevent body movement and possible further injury.
2. Background And Objectives Of The Invention
Stretchers having a rigid board and a pair of underlying skids are commonly used by medical technicians and personnel to transport vehicle accident victims, athletes with sports injuries and other sick and injured persons from the accident site to hospitals and clinics where they undergo examination and treatment. Transportation can take as little as a few minutes, but oftentimes accident victims must remain substantially immobilized for much longer periods, strapped to a rigid stretcher which can cause further discomfort in addition to the injuries suffered. Frequently, accident victims that are not in critical condition must remain on a stretcher atop a hospital gurney during long periods in a hospital corridor before treatment begins. The major contact areas for most patients when strapped to a stretcher are the back of the head, neck and the upper, middle, and rear back portions. These areas become sore and irritated after extended periods while lying immobilized.
Various types of immobilization devices have been utilized in the past which are inflatable, such as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,791. This device is used to completely envelope a patient's body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,756 provides a vacuum immobilizer and discusses in detail prior attempts at patient immobilization, such as with the use of padding, and air evacuating bags using round beads. U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,861 utilizes a spinal support in the form of an inflatable bag for attachment to a patient during transportation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,934 teaches the use of a restraint device utilizing a variety of support cushions positioned at strategic locations along the head and back areas. U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,065 provides a completely inflatable stretcher formed of polymeric or elastomeric coated fabrics.
While such prior art devices provide certain advantages under certain conditions, inherent disadvantages are also realized. For example, in some prior art inflatable devices, there is little or no protection against puncture and damages which can occur, especially at vehicle accident sites when the stretcher or device is placed on the ground for patient loading. Also, certain prior art devices do not maintain an injured patient sufficiently immobile from head to toe, which is often of primary importance when handling patients having spinal injuries. Certain types of vacuum immobilizers require expensive and complicated vacuum-producing systems which are often unavailable or which are difficult to properly use.
With the aforementioned and other disadvantages associated with prior art stretcher devices, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to overcome the shortcomings and problems associated with known devices while providing injury victims with a secure, comfortable means for immobilization and transportation.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a patient stretcher which combines the rigidity of conventional wood, metal, or plastic stretchers yet has the advantages of a cushioned or inflatable board.
It is yet another ojective of the present invention to provide a patient stretcher which includes a plurality of flexible supports which can be individually, selectively inflated, depending on the particular needs of the patient.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a rigid stretcher board in which depressions have been formed for receiving inflatable envelopes for selectively filling with a manual pump.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.